How Social Networking Can Save You Money

Log on to find great deals and make a little extra cash

By Amanda Greene

Think social networking is just for teens? Even if you’re turned off by all of the excessive status updating, photo sharing and wall posting, there are still plenty of reasons to log on. Social networking is a great way to save money on everything from airfare to groceries, plus, there are even opportunities to make money. Read on for our tips on how Twitter and Facebook can help you stash more cash.

Follow the right companies on Twitter. Many offer exclusive, limited-time-only deals to their followers.

• JetBlue Cheeps (@JetBlueCheeps) advertises limited-time and limited-availability travel deals, plus special sample sales where you can score cheap flights. A recent tweet advertised a $79 flight from Boston to Los Angeles, available to the first 25 people who clicked on the posted link.

• Follow Amazon Deals (@amazondeals) to nab Lightning Deals on a wide variety of products—from portable GPS systems to jewelry—every day. For example, followers recently got a Panasonic 32-inch LCD TV for $379.99, about $60 less than the regular price.

• Dell Outlet (@DellOutlet) posts limited-time-only coupons for deals on their computers and accessories, like 20% off any Dell Outlet Mini notebook.

Advertise through your Twitter account to make money.

• Magpie (Be-a-Magpie.com) is a Twitter advertising network that lets you make money off your Twitter page. They link you up with advertisers whose products align with your interests, then you can tweet “ads” for them. For example, if you tend to tweet about ice cream a lot, Magpie will pair you up with an ice cream company, and you can tweet about their products. The number of tweets is up to you. But be sure that you consider the content—your followers won’t be happy if all of a sudden you start advertising products or services that you clearly don’t believe in.

Communicate with companies over Twitter to get back money that you’re owed.

• If spending an eternity on hold with customer service doesn’t appeal to you, try contacting them via Twitter—it worked for social media blogger Ari Herzog (AriWriter.com). After receiving a Comcast bill for $33 more than he owed, Ari tweeted @ComcastCares with his problem. The customer service rep in charge of the tweets quickly offered help: Ari found out where to send an e-mail, then received a phone call from Comcast directly and ended up getting a check for his $33 in the mail.

Keep track of your habits to track (and reduce) how much you spend.

• Organize your spending habits with Tweet What You Spend (TweetWhatYouSpend.com). The app lets you enter what you spend from your mobile phone (no need to hold on to receipts!), and organizes it in a spending journal that you can download to your computer. With all of your purchases clearly laid out, you can get a handle on what spending habits need to change.

• Fuel Frog (@FuelFrog) is a Twitter app that lets you log how much gas you fill your tank with, your mileage between fill-ups and the price of gas. It then creates a log of your fuel consumption that you can use to adjust your driving habits to burn less fuel and save more money.

Get help—and some incentives—for saving up.

• SmartyPig, an online bank for people who are saving for something specific—like a vacation or new car—lets users link to Facebook so that friends and family can watch them save. If they wish, outsiders can make contributions to the fund by logging onto SmartyPig.com. Plus, each month SmartyPig holds a contest on Twitter and awards the winners a $100 gift card.

• Become a fan of Sears and you’ll receive two $5 coupons: one for a $50 in-store purchase and another for a $50 online purchase.

• Check out the Coupons.com Facebook application—it lets you enter your zip code to download printable coupons for savings in your area. Print them or share them with friends. Some current offers: $2 off Excedrin and 75¢ off Dannon Light & Fit yogurt.

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